Between the Eezi Awn and the Front Runner, can some of you let me know your thoughts on what you purchase and how you use it?
I think you should also look into the Hannibal rack. The slats have a center mounting channel that a standard bolt head fits into and they run front to back for better aerodynamics.
I have one and the Hannibal awnings that mount to the side rail are also very cool as they are fully self supporting with no poles/lines, etc. You can also add the side walls to the awnings to create enclosed "rooms".
It's all aluminum and there are of course mount kits for jerry cans, shovels, high-lift, propane, etc.
As for mounting to the roof, there are feet kits for mounting to various vehicle tracks but I already had some Thule and Yakima towers and bars so I used Yakima bars. The rack is supposed to be on 3 cross bars so O cut them to snug within the side rail width and drilled through vertically to allow the rack, which normally bolts down onto an aluminum cross bar, to bolt through instead to the yakima bars.
While custom whoever mount feet are nice, this allows me to remove or set up the entire rack and cross bars in about 30 minutes, alone. With the help of one other person, I can actually remove the entire thing in less than 5 minutes by popping open the yakima towers, then lift combined unit off the roof.
